Clackamas County Master Gardener's Spring Garden Fair

Celebrating their 30th anniversary, the Clackamas County Master Gardener's put on a great plant sale at this year's Spring Garden Fair, held at the Clackamas County Fair Grounds in Canby, Oregon.

Spring Garden Fair, Canby, Oregon

I arrived mid-afternoon and bypassed the morning crowds. Parking was a breeze too. I was on the hunt for a select group of plants and amazingly, maintained discipline by only purchasing plants on my list. (Seriously...I had a list!)

The local FFA kids from Canby High School, also made shopping a breeze for plant lovers with their plant taxi service. I kept myself in check and managed with a couple of recycled shopping bags. I've never seen so many red rider wagons in one place. Note to self: Get a garden wagon.

Honestly, I could have spent my entire plant budget at this vendor. Intriguing and colorful plants that are water-wise and even drought tolerant? Wow. Do I have a spot in my garden for you! I was so curious at all of Ian's plant selections that I went home and directly looked them up online. I'd say a trip to Sequim, Wa. is in my future. As our climate continues to change, these are the types of plants that I foresee becoming staples in Pacific Northwest Gardens, especially as we all continue to (hopefully) reduce how much water our gardens need during the summer months.

Another vendor that I spent a bit of time with was Wild Ginger Farm, as they had a table full of Lewisia that were calling my name.

Then, I searched for a specific Acer Palmatum. I found so many beautiful species. Look at this foliage!

Acer Palmatum 'Purple Ghost'

Acer Palmatum 'Adriane'

I get so easily distracted with Japanese Maples, but I did find the Acer I was seeking. Unfortunately, by the time I found it, I was out cash. Plant budget spent. However, I might be going back for it tomorrow (sweet talked the husband). I'm that determined to have it (and fortunately do not live too far away from the sale).

So, what did I end up with (as of today??)

Well, Dancing Oaks Nursery had something on my list!

2 Astrantia Major 'Star of Treasure' Masterwort from Dancing Oaks Nursery to match the one I purchased from them last year .

Of course I ended up with some Lewisia. Three of these beauties came of home with me from Wild Ginger Farm. And, as it's native to Southern Oregon, it fit my requirement of adding more native plants to the garden. Double win!

Lewisia cotyledon 'Kanab'

Finally, I made one, careful, selection from the The Desert Northwest Nursery. A pretty manzanita called 'paradise'. Perfect for my own personal paradise.

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Paradise'

This was the first time I was able to attend this plant sale by myself..aka..no ankle biters in tow. It was delightful to buzz around, double back and gawk as long as I wanted to without whining (I mean, darling) children.

Despite the threatening dark clouds, the heavy rain held off until near the end of the day. It was breezy but that only added to the excitement of the day. This was my kind of plant shopping.

Comments

I really thought about attending but instead want to Cistus, yes I know, I was just there, it's an addiction! Glad you found some great plants and were able to visit The Desert Northwest booth, of course I hope it was a good sale for all the vendors but especially ones like Ian who came so far. We are so lucky here to have all these great nurseries...

I'm hoping the sale ended up being ok for Ian too. His booth was very well stocked. Folks in Clackamas Co. are overall still kinda stuck in traditional 'plant' choices but I see slow change and that's positive :) I hope your trip to Cistus was great!

I love going to these fairs.. you were a lot more restrained than I would have been! Also lovely to see all that space in which to browse. The plant fairs here are so very crowded, I have one of those garden wagons and it's a real back saver, but it's also very unpopular because there's never enough room to wheel it around.

One of the big advantages to the Clackamas Co. Sale is that there is a lot of space. The sale attracts a large number of vendors and you can easily wheel a wagon around. It's a big sale for getting veggie plant starts for people in the area. I held off as I'm not ready to tackle that but I have in the past gotten my veggie starts from there too.

No :( I couldn't get out there in time before I worked all afternoon. But, I did track down the vendor online and will call this week to see if it's still available. If yes. Hubby says he'll buy it for me for Mother's day :)